1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to athletic clothing, and in particular, to a brassiere having a shirt retaining band or loop for selectively retaining a gathered shirt sleeve at the wearer's shoulder.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Sleeved garments such as tee-shirts, shirts, and blouses (hereinafter referred to collectively as "shirts") are common items of apparel. However, in some instances, the sleeves of such garments can interfere with the wearer's athletic activities and cause undue overheating. Shirt sleeves can interfere with the arm movement of the wearer and increase heat retention during athletic activities out-of-doors. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,239 to Donald Lewis discloses a sleeve holder in the form of an epaulet with a hook and loop (VELCRO.TM.) on a loose end thereof. The hook and loop fastener is attachable to either the shoulder, or to a matching fastener lower on the sleeve. By pulling up the sleeve and attaching the epaulet to the lower fastener, the sleeve can be retained in a drawn-up position. See, also U.S. Pat. No. 4,475,252 to Peyser. However, these mechanisms are suitable only for shirts on which epaulets are appropriate, and not athletic wear suitable for aerobic activity.
Also, by covering more skin surface, particularly the underarms, shirt sleeves can unduly cause the overheating of the athlete. Women tend to suffer more from this problem insofar as brassieres, or bras, particularly sports bras such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,583,544 to Cherrie Flanagan et al., are commonly worn. The additional material of the bra adds to the wearer's heat retention.
These problems are particularly apparent in organized sports such as collegiate soccer and lacrosse, where the participants are required to wear sleeved outer garments to distinguish team members and for puritan sensibilities. Heretofore, female athletes would gather up the short sleeves of their outer athletic wear which proved irritating insofar as the sleeves would tend to slip down the athlete's arms and have to be re-gathered.